The US Defense Secretary Hegseth to tour Europe to talk about war in Ukraine

The US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has embarked on a European tour to talk about Europeʼs role in Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine.

This is reported by the Voice of America.

Hegseth will first visit Germany to the headquarters of the US European Command (USEUCOM) and Africa Command (AFRICOM), and then to Belgium. There he will participate for the first time in a meeting of NATO defense ministers and a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. This meeting will be the first of the new Trump administration and the first under the leadership of the United Kingdom, not the United States.

Pete Hegseth plans to discuss the need for increased defense spending by NATO countries and the need for Europe to play a leading role in supporting Ukraine. The ministerʼs next stop is Poland.

Most likely, Hegseth will follow the line of the US President Donald Trump, who is going to end the war in Ukraine and force European countries to provide Ukraine with security guarantees.

The US officials also plan to push European allies to buy more US weapons for Ukraine. However, it is not yet clear whether the United States will ask European countries to buy American weapons through commercial contracts (which can take years to sign) or directly from US stockpiles.

Trump and the war in Ukraine

During the election campaign, Trump claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine “in one day”. However, after being elected president, his narratives changed. The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal wrote that he instructed special envoy Keith Kellogg to end the war in 100 days.

Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that the state will defend its integrity and will not cede its territories to Russia. In September 2024, Zelensky met with Donald Trump and presented him with a victory plan. According to the Ukrainian leader, the meeting was very meaningful.

New US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that under Donald Trumpʼs presidency, ending the Russian-Ukrainian war will be the official policy of the United States. He said that he could not give a specific date for the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine, but both sides will have to make some concessions because they will not be able to achieve their maximum goals.

And Trump himself, two days after his inauguration, called on Putin to end the war — otherwise he would impose large taxes and sanctions.

Zelensky said he likes Trumpʼs tactics for ending hostilities. However, he stressed that Trump and Putinʼs talks about a war without Ukraine are dangerous for everyone.

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